Inglourious Basterds

Directed (and written) by Quentin Tarantino, Universal Pictures, 2009. Starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger, et al.

Genre: Adventure, Drama, War.

Question: Have you seen a lot of war movies - specifically about WWII? I have. In fact, I have probably seen more than the average woman. Why? It's probably because my father enjoyed watching them and I enjoyed being with my dad, especially when I was younger. I believe I even saw Midway, The Eagle has Landed and A Bridge Too Far in the theater when I was around 6 or 7. I really can't be accurate about all the ones I viewed in the theater because I was so young. However, I saw most of them at home when they were on TV. No matter when or where I saw them, watching them prepared me for one of the best movies I have seen about WWII - Inglourious Basterds

I have been a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino ever since Reservoir Dogs (one of my top 5 favorite movies) was released in the early 90's. So, I can't tell you why it took me so long to watch his latest masterpiece. Honestly.

If you don't care for violence or watching movies with a lot of subtitles, then you might not like Inglourious Basterds but I recommend this movie anyway. I found it to be witty, entertaining, and an interesting attempt to depict WWII from a different point of view. Yes, this is a fictional story but a really good one.

The story was not told like some of the other Tarantino movies, it had a linear time-frame with only a few flashback scenes. Plus, there was one of the most brilliant endings I have seen in a long time. But it was the characters that Tarantino created that really made this movie awesome. Brad Pitt, probably the most recognizable star in the film, was a brash, unapologetic American soldier. His character reminded me a bit of Robert Duvall's character in Apocalypse Now. He had no fear and he enjoyed his job in the war - really, really enjoyed it.

The other characters, mostly played by foreign actors, were the surprising instrumental contributors to Inglourious Basterds: Melanie Laurent, Diane Kruger and Christoph Waltz. In fact, Mr. Waltz won the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Col. Hans Landa. This may be one of the most evil characters ever created on film, but he played it with such finesse that you knew you were watching greatness.

There are so many more characters in this film that I would be remiss if I did not tell you that everyone played an important part to this production. The list is too large to go into but I enjoyed watching every single character, no matter how small their parts were, in this film. There is even a surprise cameo by one of my favorite SNL actors.

I will admit I thought Inglourious Basterds was going to be more violent. It still is very brutal, at times, but just not as much as I thought it could have been. And it is a long movie, but I never wavered or got bored - not for one second - not even during one of the longest scenes I have ever seen in a film.

You must have a sense of humor to enjoy this movie. This is not a comedy but it is irreverent, like most of his movies. Tarantino doesn't take himself too seriously and neither should you. Just enjoy the storytelling. I sure did!

My favorite part: Christoph Waltz. He deserved all those acclaims and awards!

My least favorite part: When the credits rolled and it was over.

Did the preview show too much? NOPE! YAY!

Rating: R
Length: 153 minutes

Review: 10 out of 10